Improvement in bee-hives



. H. 'PIERSON.

Bee Hive.

Patented Oct. 16, 1866.

Fay I Gad N. PETUIS. Flwloiillmgmplmr. wasmnmn. II C UNITED STATES W. H. PIERSON, OF WEST JERSEY, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

Specification formingpart of Letters Patent No. 58,881, dated October 16, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, W. H. PrERsoN, of West Jersey, in the county of Stark and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Bee- Hive and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being. had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of my invention, taken in the line m :12, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a vertical section of the same, taken in the line y y, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, avertical section of a part pertaining to the same, taken in the line 2 2, Fig. 2; Fig. 4, ahorizontal section of the same, taken in the line 2 2, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to a new and improved arrangement of the breeding and spare-honey boxes, whereby the labor of the bees is materially reduced.

The invention also relates to an improved means for transferring the bees from one breeding-box to the other, in order to admit of old combs being taken out when necessary 5 and the invention further relates to an improved robber-trap, whereby the honey in the hive is fully guarded and protected from robber-bees.

A represents the case of the hive, which may be constructed of wood, and of rectangular form, and provided with a horizontal partition, a, secured in it about one-third the distance of its height from its bottom.

In the upper compartment of the case A there are placed two breeding-boxes, B 13, side by side, having no bottoms, and provided with holes b in their sides, through which the bees are allowed to pass from one box to the other when not prevented by the insertion ofa plate, 0, between the boxes.

D D are two spare-honey boxes, placed in the lower compartment of the case, and having holes 0 in their tops, which are in line with holes (Z in the partition a, to admit of the bees passing from the boxes B B into D D, and vice versa. (See Fig. 1.)

In the upper surface of the partition a there are made two grooves, e 0, extending from an entrance, f, in the front side of the case A, back underneath the boxes 13 B.

E represents a box, which is attached by thumb-screws g g to the exterior of the front side of the hive. The top plate,a"", of this box serves as an alighting-board for the entrance f, and the front side of the box is provided with a glass sliding door, h, secured by a but ton,

F is a tube, which passes vertically through the top of the box E, downinto the box E, the upper end of the tube being flush with the upper surface of the top plate, a

By having the spare-honey boxes D below the breeding-boxes B B, the bees work. more rapidly than if they were placed above them. The natural tendency is to work from the top downward, commencing with the breedingcombs and filling the breeding-boxes first, and then filling the spare-honey boxes. The usual mode is to place the spare-honey boxes above the breeding-boxes, and in some instances at the sides of the hive, but in either case the bees a-recompelled,when the breedin g-boxes are full, to travel, heavily laden, entirely through the breeding-boxes, in order to get into the spare-honey boxesa difficulty fully obviated by my improvement.

Whenever it is necessary to remove old comb from the breeding-boxes, a tube, Gr, (see Fig. 4,) is inserted in the passage 0, leading to the box B to be operated upon, and the bees can pass out through this tube, but not return through it, and will pass through the passage 0 into the other box. The plate 0 is placed between the two boxes B B, to prevent the bees from passing from one box to the other, and hence the box with the tube applied to it will soon be empty, and can be removed from the hive and the old comb taken from it. Either box B may be thus operated upon without the least danger of the person being stung by the bees.

In case the hive is in danger of being attached by robbing-bees, the entrance f is closed by a strip, j, the box IE baited with honey, and the robbers will pass down through the tube F into box E and be entrapped. This box may be detached at anytime and the robboxes D, with perforations c, entrance f, box bers destroyed by the fumes of brimst-one, to- E, alighting-board (0*, tube F, and tube G,

bacoo, or other suitable substances. substantially as described, as and for the pur- Having thus described my invention, I claim pose specified.

glsltlfw and desire to secure by Letters Pat- W H r The combination and arrangement of the Witnesses:

case A, grooved and perforated partition a, R. N. KING,

breeding-boxes B, with perforations b, spare JEssE JOHNSON. 

